Key Takeaways
- • Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital acquired a $2 billion stake in Uber (30.3 million shares), representing one of the hedge fund's largest positions, with Ackman calling himself a "long-term customer and admirer" of the platform.
- • Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi publicly praised Ackman as a "legendary investor," signaling an unusually collaborative relationship between activist investor and management—a departure from Ackman's typical combative approach.
- • Ackman credited Khosrowshahi with transforming Uber from "erratic" past leadership into "one of the best managed and highest quality businesses in the world," viewing the current CEO as instrumental to the company's profitability and growth trajectory.
- • Ackman's product-level engagement has directly influenced feature development; his X post about difficulty ordering multiple Ubers for family members led to a new capability that Khosrowshahi described as "a really cool feature."
- • Pershing Square, managing over $17 billion in assets, is doubling down on consumer-facing businesses, with major positions in Chipotle ($1 billion) and now Uber, signaling conviction in well-managed, cash-generative growth companies.
Summary
Bill Ackman's hedge fund Pershing Square revealed in February 2025 a roughly $2 billion investment in Uber, holding 30.3 million shares and establishing one of the firm's largest positions. The stake represents a significant bet on the ride-sharing company by one of Wall Street's most prominent activist investors, though Ackman's involvement has notably diverged from his typical playbook of pushing aggressive boardroom changes.
In remarks at the Bloomberg Tech Summit on June 5, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi characterized the relationship with Ackman as entirely positive, calling him a "legendary investor" whose involvement has inspired new product development. Khosrowshahi stated, "We've got a great relationship," and highlighted Ackman's deep operational engagement with Uber's platform. "He's intensely interested in the product and talks to his drivers, so he gives me a lot of feedback," Khosrowshahi said, indicating that Ackman's input carries meaningful weight in strategic decisions.
Ackman's investment thesis centers on management quality and operational execution. In his February X post announcing the position, Ackman praised Khosrowshahi's tenure, stating that under his leadership Uber has become "one of the best managed and highest quality businesses in the world." This assessment contrasts sharply with Ackman's prior criticism of Uber's leadership under founder Travis Kalanick, whom he described as "erratic." Ackman's confidence in the current management team appears to hinge on Khosrowshahi's transformation of Uber into a "highly profitable and cash-generative growth machine," according to supplemental sources.
The investor's engagement extends beyond capital allocation to active product feedback. When Ackman posted on X about the logistical difficulty of ordering multiple Ubers simultaneously for himself, his children, and his mother following an event, Uber's product team responded by developing a dedicated feature to address that use case. Khosrowshahi confirmed the feature has "proven to be a really cool feature," demonstrating Ackman's ability to influence product roadmap priorities at the platform level.
Pershing Square, which manages more than $17 billion in assets, has concentrated its portfolio in consumer-facing, well-managed businesses. The Uber position joins significant holdings including $1 billion in Chipotle shares, reflecting Ackman's conviction in highly profitable, operationally disciplined growth companies with strong management teams.
In remarks at the Bloomberg Tech Summit on June 5, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi characterized the relationship with Ackman as entirely positive, calling him a "legendary investor" whose involvement has inspired new product development. Khosrowshahi stated, "We've got a great relationship," and highlighted Ackman's deep operational engagement with Uber's platform. "He's intensely interested in the product and talks to his drivers, so he gives me a lot of feedback," Khosrowshahi said, indicating that Ackman's input carries meaningful weight in strategic decisions.
Ackman's investment thesis centers on management quality and operational execution. In his February X post announcing the position, Ackman praised Khosrowshahi's tenure, stating that under his leadership Uber has become "one of the best managed and highest quality businesses in the world." This assessment contrasts sharply with Ackman's prior criticism of Uber's leadership under founder Travis Kalanick, whom he described as "erratic." Ackman's confidence in the current management team appears to hinge on Khosrowshahi's transformation of Uber into a "highly profitable and cash-generative growth machine," according to supplemental sources.
The investor's engagement extends beyond capital allocation to active product feedback. When Ackman posted on X about the logistical difficulty of ordering multiple Ubers simultaneously for himself, his children, and his mother following an event, Uber's product team responded by developing a dedicated feature to address that use case. Khosrowshahi confirmed the feature has "proven to be a really cool feature," demonstrating Ackman's ability to influence product roadmap priorities at the platform level.
Pershing Square, which manages more than $17 billion in assets, has concentrated its portfolio in consumer-facing, well-managed businesses. The Uber position joins significant holdings including $1 billion in Chipotle shares, reflecting Ackman's conviction in highly profitable, operationally disciplined growth companies with strong management teams.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.